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Sunday, November 25, 2007

Why Your Credit Score is Important

Your credit score can either haunt you or reward you. It all depends on how you handle your credit and payment activities. Your credit score determines what interest rates you will pay and if you are even approved for a loan or a credit card at all. In addition, your credit score can play a factor in renting your next apartment or getting hired from a potential employer.

Your credit score is compiled from the information on your credit report. The performance of your credit activity is rated on a numerical scale from 350-850. This number is your credit score. The higher your credit score, the better. Late payments, delinquent accounts and maxed out credit limits are all things that can lower your score. Below is a general guideline to determine what your credit score means in terms of getting approved for a loan or receiving credit and what type of interest rates you can expect to pay.

750-850: Is considered to be an excellent credit score. You can expect approval and should receive a great interest rate.

680-749: Is considered to be a good credit score. Generally you should be approved and given a favorable interest rate.
620-679: Is considered to be a middle of the road score. You will more than likely be approved but you may have to pay a higher interest rate.

550-619: Is considered to be a low credit score. You can find lenders who will approve people with poor credit scores but they will probably charge very high interest rates and fees.

300-549: Is considered to be a very bad score. It will be a challenge to find a lender that will offer you credit at all.

Do you know what your credit score is? Having this information can save you the time and hassle of trying to get approved for loans that you may not even be eligible for. There are many reputable companies like http://www.credit-report-credit-score.com that can provide you with your credit score for free.

If your credit score is lower than you need it to be, there are many ways to get your score up. It will take some time and diligence but it can happen. There are credit repair companies available to help get your credit situation back into shape. But there are also actions you can take on your own to improve your credit score.

First, you have to be sure to make all of your future payments on time. Late payments can be very detrimental to your credit score. Secondly, you should try to stop charging if you have a lot of credit card debt. If you do have a lot of credit card debt, you should try to pay the balances down as much as possible. Do not attempt to obtain new credit and do not fill out excessive amounts of loan applications. New accounts and numerous credit application inquires can be a hazard to your score.

If you currently have a good credit score, then make sure you keep it! If you are beginning to have financial trouble and your monthly payments are becoming a challenge, try at all costs to avoid defaulting on any of your loans, especially your mortgage. Taking out a debt consolidation loan is an option that can help ease your monthly payment obligations and keep you from ruining your credit score.

With all of this said, you can see why your credit score is one very important little number.

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Note: This article may be freely reproduced as long as the authors bio paragraph at the bottom of this article is included, the article is published �as is� (unedited) and all URL's are made active hyperlinks with no syntax changes.
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About the Author
This article was written by Beth Pardue who has over 10 years of experience in the financial industry assisting clients with assorted financial needs. To learn more about credit reports or to get a free credit report online please visit: http://www.credit-report-credit-score.com

Work At Home Scams Thrive On The Internet

The ability to earn a living from home is one that millions of people would enjoy. No one likes being a slave to a time clock, and no one enjoys working for a difficult boss. The notion of working from home is appealing to everyone who has ever had an unpleasant job, and thousands of Americans try their hands at it every year with varying degrees of success.

Where there is opportunity for success, there is also opportunity for fraud, and the work at home sector is no exception to that rule. Offers to work from home are common subjects of spam e-mail, and there are thousands of Websites devoted to lavish descriptions of the riches one can acquire while working from home. Unfortunately, most of these offers are fraudulent, and the only thing that most people will get out of them is a lighter wallet. Offers to get rich at home while stuffing envelopes or processing medical claims for physicians earn far more for the people selling them than they do for the victims who buy them.

These are but two of the common work at home scams that can be commonly found in e-mail solicitations or in the classified advertising sections of business-related magazines. Anyone who is considering investing in a plan to work from home should first consider the following:

You can't get something for nothing. If a company promises that you can make thousands each week from doing little or no work, you should be suspicious.

Do not respond to solicitations that come via e-mail. These messages are literally sent out by the millions in hopes that a few people will believe the offer and send money. Don't do it.

Find out what it is you will do to get paid. Then do some research on your own. Is there a market for the work you will be doing? Look into it.

Research the company involved. Thanks to the Internet, it's as easy as looking them up in a search engine. See what others have to say about the company.

Do you have to invest money? How much? What do you receive? Can you get a refund if you change your mind? Find out.

While there are legitimate opportunities to work from home, most offers to hire people to do so are fraudulent. By doing a little homework before you invest your money or time, you can avoid being another victim of a work at home scam.





About the Author:

�Copyright 2006 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including http://www.End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation, credit counseling, payday loans and personal bankruptcy.
Source: www.isnare.com

Worried About Debts?

Having trouble paying your bills? Getting dunning notices from creditors? Are your accounts being turned over to debt collectors? Are you worried about losing your home or your car?


You're not alone. Many people face a financial crisis some time in their lives. Whether the crisis is caused by personal or family illness, the loss of a job, or overspending, it can seem overwhelming. But often, it can be overcome. Your financial situation doesn't have to go from bad to worse.


If you or someone you know is in financial hot water consider the options below. How do you know which will work best for you? It depends on your level of debt, your level of discipline, and your prospects for the future.


Developing a Budget: The first step toward taking control of your financial situation, is to do a realistic assessment of how much money you earn and how much money you spend. Start by listing your income from all sources. Then, list your "fixed" expenses – those that are the same each month – like mortgage payments or rent, car payments, and insurance premiums. Next, list the expenses that vary – like entertainment, recreation, and clothing. Writing down all your expenses, even those that seem insignificant, is a helpful way to track your spending patterns, identify necessary expenses, and prioritize the rest. The goal is to make sure you can make ends meet on the basics: housing, food, health care, insurance, and education. Your public library and bookstores have information about budgeting and money management techniques. In addition, computer software programs can be useful tools for developing and maintaining a budget, balancing your cheque book, and creating plans to save money and pay down your debt.


Contacting Your Creditors: Contact your creditors immediately if you're having trouble making ends meet. Tell them why it's difficult for you, and try to work out a modified payment plan that reduces your payments to a more manageable level. Don't wait until your accounts have been turned over to a debt collector. At that point, your creditors have given up on you.


Managing Your Auto and Home Loans: Your debts can be unsecured or secured. Secured debts usually are tied to an asset, like your car for a car loan, or your house for a mortgage. If you stop making payments, lenders can repossess your car or foreclose on your house. Unsecured debts are not tied to any asset, and include most credit card debt, bills for medical care, signature loans, and debts for other types of services.


Debt Consolidation: If your objective is to reduce interest rates and lower your monthly payments, avoid bankruptcy, consolidate your bills and have one monthly payment, or simply get out of debt the fastest way possible, then a debt consolidation loan could provide the answer.


Are you paying out too much every month for your credit cards, store cards and loans? Then why not replace them all with one, lower, convenient repayment through a consolidation loan?


Consolidation loans can give you a fresh start, allowing you to consolidate all of your loans into one - giving you one easy to manage payment, and in most cases, at a lower rate of interest.


Secured on your UK home, low cost, low rate, cheap, low interest debt consolidation loans can sweep away the pile of repayments to your credit and store cards, HP, loans and replace them with one, low cost, monthly payment – one calculated to be well within your means.


With a Debt Consolidation Loan you can borrow from �5,000 to �75,000 and up to 125% of your property value in some cases.


A UK Debt Consolidation Loan is a low cost loan secured on your UK home. It frees up the spare capital (or equity) in your home to repay your store card and other debts.


It can reduce BOTH your interest costs AND your monthly repayments, putting you back in control of your life.


Debt Consolidation Loan rates are variable, depending on status


Your monthly repayments will depend on the amount borrowed and term.


You may freely reprint this information on your website provided the following caption remains intact.


�This information courtesy of http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk Click here to see full range of loans.�




John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help UK homeowners find the best available online secured loan via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website. To find a loan that best suits your needs visit http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk

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You can eliminate debt, but it's hard work and it takes time

If you watch any television at all, you have probably seen ads for companies that promise that they can get you out of debt quickly - perhaps in as little as one year. It sounds great - they've got a staff of professionals with years of experience who can assist you with your debt problems. They'll tell you how they can get your creditors to accept much less than you actually owe - perhaps as little as half of your outstanding debt. And they will do it all for a small fee.

Wow! Sounds great, doesn't it? Just pay a small monthly fee and your debts will be cut in half! It does sound great, until you take the time to ask yourself "Why would my creditors be willing to accept only half of what I owe them?"

That's a really good question, isn't it?

Here is how these debt elimination companies work. You meet with them and agree to pay some fees up front. There may be a one time application fee and there will probably be ongoing monthly fees, as well. They will then instruct you to send a monthly amount to them to cover your bills. They may or may not deduct your monthly fee to them from this amount. You may assume that they will then negotiate your debt with your creditors and pay them from the money you send them. Well, it doesn't really work that way. In all likelihood, they will just sit on the money, and probably for quite a while. If you have been paying your bills regularly, even if you have only been paying the minimum amounts, your creditors are happy. They make tons of money off of people who pay only the minimum amounts. And as long as you are doing that, they have no reason to negotiate with you. So your debt elimination service is going to tell you to send money to them and to ignore any communication from your creditors. After your bills have gone unpaid for a few months, they will then negotiate with your creditors in order to get them to lower your balances.

There's just one problem with this - if you haven't been paying your bills, it's going to wreck your credit report. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and if you don't pay your bills for any reason, you are going to be reported as a nonpayer to the credit bureaus. You may be able to have your debt lowered, but you'll find it nearly impossible to get credit again anytime soon. And worse, any money owed that is waived by your creditors will be treated by the Internal Revenue Service as taxable income, so you'll have to pay taxes on the amount of the bills that you didn't pay.

And you'll still be paying monthly fees to that company you hired to "help" you. There are better ways to get out of debt than by hiring companies that advertise on late night television.

About the author:

Talbert Williams offers debt consolidation referrals and advice on debt settlement, debt relief and debt consolidation. For more information, articles, news, tools and valuable resources on debt solutions, visit this site: http://www.1debtfreedom.com

You Can Fix Your Bad Or Poor Credit

Tips on how to get started now.
You will not be able to build good credit overnight. It will take discipline and persistence on your part to change your credit for the better. After you have fixed and improved your credit rating in the eyes of lenders, you will notice more opportunities offered to you to borrow money at more desireable terms than when your credit was bad. Just because you have bad credit does not mean that you can not borrow money or get a loan, it just means that less opportunities will be available. The funds you can get will come at a greater cost in terms of higher interest rates and more stringent repayment terms.

Many banks and lending companies are less likely to make loans to people with bad credit. Therefore, it only makes sense that you strive to improve your creditworthiness in order to convince potential lenders that you are a good credit risk. Once you have improved your credit history and track record you will be have better opportunities to buy a car, finance a personal loan, or buy a house. If you have already been trying to financed for any large purchases, then you may have noticed the hurdles you've been put through trying to get approved.

Fixing your credit rating may be as easy as getting any inaccurate statements off of your credit report. Therefore it is important to frequently check yours to see if everything on it is correct. If you do find inaccuracies immediately contact the credit bureau and work with them to get them corrected and off of your credit report.
For others, fixing or repairing their credit rating may be a lot more involved and complicated. Start by getting your personal budget balanced. You should not be spending more each month than what you bring in each month.

If you are, then get that straightened out immediately. Cut out all unnecessary spending and charging. It is critical that you get your budget and debt repayment plan balanced, while making all debt payments on time. Not making on time payments each month increases the late payment fees you will have to pay, bring about increased interest rates and continue to negatively your credit rating. Once you start making and continue to make your monthly debt payments on time, you should see your credit score start to rise.

If you find that you can not do this on your own, there are many companies that can provide debt consolidation services.

So in essence to improve your credit:
* Create and live by a personal budget that balances your monthly income with your monthly expenses.
* Create a plan to save money and pay off your credit cards and debt.
* Use credit wisely.
* Pay your bills on time every month.

Once you have put all of these tips into action and your credit score begins to improve, you should see your borrowing opportunities improve as well. But remember, good credit habits must be worked at every day, so do not give up and make it a lifetime habit.

About the Author
James Smith publishes http://www.all-credit-types.com/. Visit the personal finance web site for more credit information and resources. This article may be freely reprinted as long as the author's resource box and url links remain intact.

You Deserve More Money!

You deserve more money. Everyone does. We work too hard to only get paid what we currently get paid. It's not a scam. It's simply using the assets you have to leverage a greater investment!
Here are a few ideas to help you increase your income. But if you're reading this while you're on a website that highlights secured loans, you're probably wondering what increasing your income has to do with a secured loan. There are actually many reasons, so you'll have to read on.
But first, one of the ways you may want to increase your income is by finding a part time job to do in your spare time from the comfort of your own home. For example, you may increase your income by selling things on eBay or by working over the Internet to design websites for people. This way, you can keep your current job but build up some additional income. Who knows? You may eventually end up becoming so busy that you have to quit your day job! This is using your asset of time to make money.
The second thing you can do to increase your income is to invest in the stock market. This is not as scary as you might think and it involves the same principle that you know from owning a home. When you bought a house, how did you think you would make money on it? Simple: Just by hanging onto it for some time, many homes rise in value over time. It's the same with the stock market. Sure, not all homes (and not all stocks) rise in value. But if you give even half the thought choosing stocks that you gave to choosing a house, you should find one that should generally rise. But the key is to hang onto it. You don't sell your house every time the market fluctuates! In fact, you probably don't know or care how much your house is worth until you're ready to sell it. It should be the same with the stocks you buy. and sell. This is using your assets of shares to make money
The third thing you can do to increase your income is to get a secured home improvement loan. As you already know, your house is an investment and if you can do something to increase its value, you should! Getting a home improvement loan is an easy and affordable way to increase the value of your home so that when it comes time to sell your home, it will be worth more. This is using your assets around you to make money.
The fourth way to increase your income will surprise you. Consolidate your debts! Get a debt consolidation loan to pull all of your outstanding debts together and put them in one secured loan. The interest rate will be less, the monthly payment will be less, and the monthly payment will be fixed. A lower rate and payment will mean more money for you and a fixed payment will mean it will be easier to budget! This is using your assets of current habits to make money

About The Author

Jeff Lakie is the owner of http://www.fast-secured-loanuk.co.uk providing Uk homeowners with a free loan quote service. Visit us today for a free no obligation quote.
contact@loan-source.co.uk

You Don't Have To Declare Bankruptcy To Deal With Your Debts

Considering filing bankruptcy? If your finances are in ruins and you're considering filing bankruptcy, there's a few things you should know.

Bankruptcy is not your only option. Millions of people credit is devastated by bankruptcy every year. Though filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy will clear you of any obligation to creditors, it is devastating to your credit and will ride your credit report for ten years.

There are several alternatives to bankruptcy depending on your current situation. You may consider:

Debt Consolidation- Debt Consolidation is an easy and timely alternative. A Debt Consolidation Counselor will evaluate your current situation and past debt and develop a budget for you.

They will negotiate payment options with your creditors and simply provide you with the alternative to make one easy monthly payment to them and they will disburse the payment among your creditors. The benefits include:

* Usually, a lower monthly payment
* Lower percentage rates
* Debt payoff in a timelier manner
* Less contact from creditors or no contact from creditors
* You will be able to keep your credit at satisfactory standards versus the harsh impact a bankruptcy would have on it
* You're able to obtain new credit
* And with the money you save with the advantage of a lower monthly payment plan you can contribute to a Savings Account or Retirement Account

The above benefits are just a few of the benefits of Debt Consolidation versus Bankruptcy.

Another alternative is a Personal Loan or Debt
Consolidation Loan. This is one large loan to pay off smaller loans or debts. With one large loan, you will normally have a lower percentage rate and a longer pay off period. The benefits include:

* The ability to pay off debts in full
* No more harassing phone calls from creditors
* Your credit will be saved from derogatory accounts and collections * Low percentage rate

However, in order to obtain a Personal Loan or Debt Consolidation Loan you will need satisfactory credit. Though there are alternative to filing bankruptcy; in some cases, bankruptcy is the only option.

Before deciding whether to file bankruptcy or consolidate, consult a financial advisor. He or she should be able to give you advice after evaluating your situation and current credit standings.

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Discover the debt consolidation alternatives to
Bankruptcy. Find out useful advice and information. Click ==> http://www.debtconsolidation-easy.com/


About the Author
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Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site so long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include my resource box as listed above.

You Should Always Avoid Payment Holidays

Once you've been paying off a credit card for a while, you might be offered a 'payment holiday '. You'll get a letter, saying that since the company knows it's difficult for some families around Christmas (or whatever other excuse they think up), they're offering you a month off from paying, as a 'special present'.




Why Would They Do That?




Offers of payment holidays typically have a very high acceptance rate. People think it's great that they can take a month off from the stress of paying back debt. What they don't usually realise is that these 'holidays' aren't a present at all - they're a great money-spinner for the credit card company. For the company, it's a win-win situation: they get to make big profits just by making their poorer customers happy.




How Can Letting Me Off Paying Earn Them Money?




Well, that's where the trick comes in. If you read the small print, you'll find that the payment holiday isn't interest free! You're still being charged interest - and since you're not paying anything back that month, the interest will be there next month for you to pay interest on (compound interest, you see).




That might feel a little hard to grasp, so here's an example. Let's say you were paying back $1000 of debt at 1.5% per month (about 19.5% per year). Your minimum payment each month is 2% (26.82% per year).




If you pay the minimum for all 12 months of the year, then you will pay back $233.51, and owe $941.62 at the end of the year. Your debt has been reduced by $58.38, and you've lost $175.13 in interest.




With the payment holiday, though, you pay 2% per month for only 11 months (so you pay 24.3% back on the debt over the year). That's $217.80, and you'd owe $960.55 at the end of the year. Overall, you've paid $37.86 for your payment holiday from a payment of about $20. In other words, your month off cost you almost two months of payments.




Don't worry if you don't understand all the maths involved here - it's been deliberately designed by mathematicians and marketers to be as confusing as possible, to stop you working out what a bad deal you're getting. After all, if you haven't read this, would you really ever turn down a month off paying your bills? Just remember: don't fall for it. The more you owe, the more that 'holiday' will cost you. Wouldn't you rather take your money and go on a real holiday, instead of spending it all on repaying credit card debt?




If It Sounds Too Good to Be True.




In all things in life, remember that no-one gives you anything for nothing - least of all credit card companies. Anytime they offer you anything, it's because they're going to make a profit on it. If you can't see where their profit is coming from, be suspicious - it's probably all a big scam that's going to cost you money, even if you don't realise it.

About the Author

Ken Austin is the webmaster at Debt Consolidation Information and Credit Card Debt Relief

You should only declare bankruptcy if you absolutely have to.

Bankruptcy is something that you should try to avoid unless it is absolutely necessary. There are several ways that you can determine whether or not you need to declare bankruptcy. Essentially, this is the best choice for you if you do not have a better way to pay off any of your bills, and if you do not think it is possible for you to ever get out of the debts that you owe.

If this is the case, then bankruptcy is a way to avoid paying more than you can afford, and it will allow you to take a fresh start, although you won't have very much money at all. There are a few things that you'll be able to keep even though you declare bankruptcy, and these are generally personal belongings that are not worth any real monetary value. If you are wondering which items are exempted where you live, then you should read through the bankruptcy rules and regulations regarding your state or country.

However, if you can possibly avoid bankruptcy, then you should. One reason for this is that even though bankruptcy can help you start over and get rid of most of your debt, it is still not very good for your credit rating. In fact, declaring bankruptcy can give you a very bad credit rating for years to come.

Luckily, there are a few different things that you can do in order to avoid bankruptcy. One thing that is used by many people every day is debt consolidation. Essentially, debt consolidation allows you to contact all of your creditors and ask them to make your monthly payments and interest rates easier to deal with. The reason that this works is that your creditors would much rather alleviate part of your debt and get most of the money they are owed.

Consolidating and paying your debts is also good for your credit rating. Instead of hurting it, paying off your debts will actually help your credit rating, since every time you pay your debts, it improves. Therefore, debt consolidation and other payment strategies are very preferable to declaring bankruptcy.

About the Author
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.cashbazar.com. Visit his website for the latest on personal finance, debt elimination, budgeting, credit cards and real estate.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Your Guide to Credit Repair Services

There are many people today that are in great need of having their credit repaired. There can be many reasons why people need there credit repaired. Some people have bad credit due to medical bills. Some people just made poor spending decisions. Some people were victims of credit fraud. Some people just had no idea there was even a problem with their credit until they tried to apply for something. Whatever the reasons may be, they need help repairing their credit. This is why they need the help of credit repair services. If you are not sure what credit repair services are, then let this be your guide to credit repair services.

Credit repair services are not free. This is because many things are involved in repairing your credit. This includes monitoring of your credit reports, changing inaccuracies, removing bills that have been paid that show up on your credit, etc. It also involves being in constant contact with the credit reporting agencies: Experian, Trans Union, and Exquifax.

Credit repair is very time consuming, this is why also why credit repair services must charge a fee. The fee will vary depending on where you go for you credit repair services. Some credit repair services offer a free 30 day trial. Some offer guarantees of free credit repair or your money back. All and all, you should estimate paying a fee of $399.99 for credit repair services. This is the average fee that most charge. Some cost quite a bit more.

Another thing that credit repair services often offer is a way to help you consolidate you debt so that you can more easily repair your credit. Most people that are in need of credit repair services have a lot of debt and bills on their credit report. Debt consolidation combines all of your bills together and you make one payment to one lender instead of several payments to several lenders. This saves you money on interest rates and helps so that your debt doesn't get higher. With debt consolidation, these bills are more easily paid and thus you can repair your credit.

You can find credit repair services in many ways. You can find many online or you can check your local yellow pages. Be sure to do your research before selecting a credit repair service as some charge more than others. There are also non profit credit repair services that are available to help those of you with little or no income.

The above was all of the information you need to get you started in finding a credit repair service. Repairing your credit can be a difficult and scary ordeal. But with the help of credit repair services, the task can be much more easily obtained. This will save you from much stress and ease the difficulties you may be suffering.
Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Credit Repair. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting http://www.creditrepairoutline.info/

About the Author
Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Credit Repair. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting http://www.creditrepairoutline.info

Your Junk Is Someone Else's Treasure!

Saving money can be quite hard to do if you are on a tight budget, but all of us can do it very simply by selling the things that are cluttering up our homes and which we no longer need. I am fairly sure that most of us, if asked, would like some extra cash to help pay off a loan or other debt, or to put towards something nice like a holiday or something else that you would like to save up for.

What Can I Sell to Save?

The answer to this question is almost anything. You would be surprised what people are willing to buy if they like one particular thing you own or if they are interested in collecting certain things. Below is a list of things that you might find in your home and could sell, but this is by no means a complete list. Use your imagination and have a good look around the cupboard under the stairs and the garage! You can also have a look on the Internet at sites specialising in collectables and memorabilia – these will give you an idea of what people are interested in buying and most importantly for you, how much you can charge.

Advertising and packaging – This can be much sought after by collectors if they are in good condition. Certain types are more popular than other for example cigarettes, food and cosmetics products. They do not always necessarily have to be old – I recently sold a tin that contained candies, which I bought about a month ago. I sold it to a woman who paid 10 dollars for it because she was collecting tins from this particular brand of candy and my one had a famous cartoon character on the side of it.

Autographs – Do have an old autograph hanging around from someone you admired when you were a child? These could bring in anything from around 10 dollars to 7000 dollars if it is from someone really famous and there are few others around.

Baby care accessories – these can be incredibly expensive to buy new these days and many first-time parents look for second-hand items that they can pick up at a reduced price.

Books – Rare books and first editions can bring in significant sums of money. We've all checked our kid's Harry Potter books to see if they are a first edition haven't we!

Bottles – Yes I did say bottles! Old and rare bottles are extremely collectable and can earn you anything from 5 dollars to 5000 dollars. These could include stoneware beer bottles or 19th Century poison bottles.

Records – Old and rare records in good condition can earn you a few dollars, if you are old enough to remember what records are!

Toys and games – Old and rare toys and games are a particular collector's favorite, as are newer ones that are connected with popular films and TV series. The latter need to be in really good condition. 20 years ago, as a kid in his mid-teens, my cousin was buying Star Wars figures and keeping them sealed in their packets. They are now worth up to 250 dollars each! You can still get around 20 dollars for figures that are no longer boxed but are in good condition.

As you can see, the phrase �in good condition� keeps coming up and this is the key to making money from your unwanted belongings. A damaged item will sell for far less than one that is in good condition and may not even make you any money at all.

How and where can I sell?

Once you have something that you want to sell, there are many ways of doing it. The following are just a few ideas. To start with you could ask your friends, neighbours and work colleagues if they are interested in what you have. Many companies have an internal newsletter or Intranet where "items for sale" can be advertised for free. You could use classified ads in local newspapers and on the Internet – many of these are also free. Garage sales and car boot sales are other options if you have quite a few things to sell. You may also wish to consider using Internet auction web sites such as Ebay. These are now hugely popular with millions of items being bought and sold at any one time, all over the world. You are certain to find that items similar to that which you intend to sell are already being sold by someone else on the Internet, so you can see what sort of purchase values they attract. This will help you decide on a suitable starting price for your own items. Sites like Ebay make their money by charging you a small listing fee and by taking a small percentage of the final selling price.


About the Author: Emmanuel Mendonca is the webmaster and publisher of Debt Genius at http://www.debtgenius.com - a free source of information and advice on debt consolidation, getting out of debt and saving money.

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Your Online Loan Guide?

While planning to take a loan one needs to keep these points in mind. Do a lot of research and contact several lenders including banks, savings and loans, credit unions, and mortgage companies, etc before selecting a particular lender. Ask each lender about the type of loan that would best suit your needs e.g personal loan or a debt consolidation loan (http://www.seek.uk.com/loans/debt-consolidation.html). While making a decision, compare:

* The annual percentage rate (APR): An APR is the most important thing to compare different loans. It is determined on the factors like interest rate, points, fees, and other credit charges that the borrower is required to pay. The cost of the loan depends on the APR i.e. the lower the APR, the lower the cost of loan. Ask if the APR is fixed or adjustable -- that is, will it change? If so, how often and how much will it change ?

* Points and fees: These charges are not refundable if pay off the loan early. Points are generally are paid in cash at closing, but may be financed. If you finance the points, you'll have to pay additional interest, increasing the total cost of your loan.

* The term of the loan: The duration for which you will make the payments.

* The monthly payment: It is the amount that you will be paying every month. Ask whether it will remain same or will change with time.

* Balloon payments: This is a large payment generally made at the end of the loan term and if you can't make the payment, you may need another loan.

* Prepayment penalties: It is the extra fees that you may need to pay in case you pay off the loan early by refinancing or selling your home. These fees may force you to keep a high-rate loan by making it too expensive to get out of the loan. If your loan includes a prepayment penalty, understand the penalty you would have to pay. Ask the lender if you can get a loan without a prepayment penalty, and what that loan would cost. Then decide what's right for you.

* Whether the interest rate for the loan will increase if you default: An increased interest rate provision says that if you miss a payment or pay late, you may have to pay a higher interest rate for the rest of the loan term. <

About the author:

nidhi

Seek.uk

visit: http://www.seek.uk.com/