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Post by healthy11 on Feb 15, 2018 22:26:16 GMT -5
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Post by shawbridge on Feb 18, 2018 22:58:22 GMT -5
I've suggested to ShawD, who has been traveling a lot, that she get a premium card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve that will pay up to $300 for travel tickets and $100 for Global Entry (to counteract a $450 fee). Also gets entry into some airline clubs. May suggest to ShawSon. He's in his last quarter of grad school but has started working as well at his new startup.
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Post by healthy11 on Feb 21, 2018 9:46:31 GMT -5
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Post by healthy11 on Aug 15, 2018 18:59:34 GMT -5
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Post by healthy11 on Aug 26, 2018 11:36:37 GMT -5
24 Aug 2018 CNBC.com by Sharon Epperson| Annie Nova Your credit score may have just gone up. Here's why, and what you should do if you find yourself with a higher score. Your credit report might be getting a makeover.And the three-digit credit score we all carry around, which can determine how likely we are to get a favorable loan to buy a house or a car, could be moving up as a result.
The reason behind the potential boost is a change in the way the three major credit rating firms deal with negative credit information, including unpaid bills and debts.
Some of new practices by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion include more updated reporting, such as noting when an overdue balance has been paid, along with the exclusion of certain debts and items of questionable accuracy.
"To the extent that the bureaus are looking and seeing what's accurate and cleaning up the report, it can improve family financial security," said Caroline Ratcliffe, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think thank.
Library fines and traffic tickets are also being scrubbed. Medical debts that have been or are being paid by insurance companies will disappear from profiles.
In response to these changes, Americans' credit reports are already showing fewer blemishes and scores are rising.
In June, the number of individuals with a collections account on their credit report fell to 25 million, down from 33 million the previous year, and the total collections balance reported on accounts declined by about $11 billion during that time, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
In addition, some people might have seen their scores take a jump earlier this year when the three major credit companies scrapped tax liens from their reports.
You can see if your score is higher for free on websites like Credit Karma or Credit Sesame. If it has, resist the urge to go deeper into debt or take a break from checking in with your score.
"Anyone who has experienced a jump in their credit score resulting from these changes should take advantage of the momentum and strive for even more progress toward improving their credit health," said Bruce McClary, vice president of communications at the National Foundation of Credit Counseling.
Consider calling your bank or credit card company and negotiating a lower interest rate. Doing so can result in major savings.
For example, if you have $10,000 in credit card debt with a 25 percent annual percentage rate, you'll have paid around $2,500 in interest over the year. But if you could get that rate down to 18 percent, you'll pay $1,800 over 12 months, and save yourself $700.
You might also consider making other financial moves with that better score, such as refinancing your car, taking out a new loan for a mortgage, checking insurance rates or getting a better credit card, said Kimberly Palmer, personal finance expert at NerdWallet. However, you'll want to be strategic, she added.
"Every application can cause a small ding to your credit," she said. "And if you are planning a big purchase like a car or a home in the next six months, hold off on credit card applications."
To keep your score moving up, pay every bill on time and try to keep your credit utilization low, she said.
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Post by healthy11 on Jul 15, 2019 17:30:31 GMT -5
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Post by healthy11 on Jul 15, 2019 21:59:19 GMT -5
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Post by healthy11 on Sept 13, 2019 16:18:29 GMT -5
Here are some places where you can learn more about credit: Experian, one of the three main credit bureaus, offers YouTube videos on credit education. Be critical of online sources. Look for signs of authority, such as a .gov or .edu in the domain, and multiple sources that back up the information. The following websites from some of the most respected authorities in consumer finance can help you jump-start your financial education. -- MyMoney.gov: The Financial Literacy and Education Commission offers tools, education and news that can help you get a better grasp on key financial topics. -- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Find tools and answers to common financial questions, guides for financial decisions, and a questionnaire about your financial well-being. -- Federal Trade Commission: The FTC's consumer information section offers advice about money and credit, scams, and more. -- CashCourse: From the National Endowment for Financial Education, CashCourse walks students through assignments and other financial tools. -- MyFICO: Fair Isaac Corp., the organization behind the FICO credit score, provides credit education videos, answers to common questions and educational calculators. -- VantageScore: Here you'll find information about managing credit, a credit score quiz and more. -- Experian: Consumer education resources include a sample Experian credit report you can use to learn how to read your own report. -- TransUnion: This major credit bureau answers commonly asked questions about credit and offers resources on understanding your credit report, identity theft and credit monitoring. -- Equifax: You'll find educational resources on credit reports, credit scores and identity theft. Additionally, news outlets such as U.S. News feature articles on financial topics with expert insights. Hands-on financial education. Theoretical financial education can only take you so far; the next step is opening accounts and managing real money and credit. Banks and credit unions frequently offer accounts geared toward young adults. For example, student checking accounts may waive account maintenance fees and balance requirements. And they may have features that can help you automate your money management, such as text alerts when your balance is low.... To read more, see creditcards.usnews.com/articles/young-adults-want-credit-education-heres-how-to-get-it
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Post by healthy11 on Jan 24, 2020 12:30:45 GMT -5
January 2020, there is a new credit scoring model, FICO 10, being revealed:
How new FICO changes may lower — or boost— your credit score by Janna Herron Yahoo Finance Editor 1/23/20
The newest version of the FICO credit score unveiled on Thursday will have a broader view of how you manage your debt and will boost as many scores as it will hurt.
Instead of relying on just a snapshot of your financial behavior, the new score, called FICO Score 10, will be able to peer into your financial habits for the past 24 months and determine – based on that history – if you’re a risky borrower.
About 40 million Americans will see their FICO score increase by 20 points or more because of the change, while another 40 million will experience a decline by at least 20 points, said Dave Shellenberger, vice president of product management at FICO. Another 30 million will notice smaller changes either way.
“These are the most predictive scores FICO has developed to date,” Shellenberger told Yahoo Money. “They really do an excellent job of reinforcing good consumer financial habits – making payments on time, not running up balances, taking out credit only when you need it. Those types of behaviors are rewarded strongly.”
Who will the new FICO score hurt?
The new score will judge certain risky behaviors more harshly.
For instance, if you build up balances on your credit cards over the last 24 months, that will hurt your score. Before, the FICO score could only see your current balance, and not the history of your growing credit card debt.
Another potential red flag is personal loans. If you consolidated credit card balances into a personal loan and then subsequently racked up new credit card debt, your score would reflect a riskier borrower.
This is especially timely, given the rise in personal loans over the last five years and increases in credit card debt, according to Matt Schulz, chief industry analyst with CompareCards.com.
“Personal loans have grown to be such a popular tool, it’s good that FICO is going to address that,” he told Yahoo Money. “We certainly have seen a lot of credit card debt move into the personal loan space.”
Building up credit card debt over time will hurt your score more under the new FICO version.
Who will the new FICO score help?
The new score will be more forgiving of other behaviors that may be considered risky by earlier score versions.
For example, if you run up your credit card balances over Christmas or on a summer vacation, but it’s a one-time spike, that won’t hurt your FICO 10 score as much. That’s because the model can look back on historical balances and see this is not a consistent pattern.
“In the past, the FICO score would focus on the most recent data,” Shellenberger said. “FICO 10 gives a more holistic picture that can help during an aberration. That sudden spike’s impact on your score softens considerably.” Change ‘bound to happen’
A number of changes in the credit landscape prompted FICO to rebuild its score, an undertaking the company does every five years or so. Its score is the most widely used by lenders to determine who to lend to and at what interest rate.
The new score now utilizes so-called trended data in a person’s credit report that shows a person’s credit performance over the last two years. It also provides more granular data, such as the amount you paid toward your credit card.
Previous FICO scores didn’t take into account this trended data, but its competitor – VantageScore – uses the data in its latest score version.
FICO 10 also reflects major changes in credit reports in the last few years due to regulations and settlements. Tax liens, judgments, and medical collections paid by insurance have been removed from credit histories altogether, while defaulted medical debt can’t show up on a report for at least six months.
“This was bound to happen,” John Ulzheimer, a credit expert who formerly worked at FICO and Equifax, told Yahoo Money. “When you take away highly predictive attributes, the scoring models are going to more heavily weigh other attributes that haven't been watered down or removed from consumer credit reports.”
Same old credit score rules apply
No matter which FICO score is used, the three pillars of maintaining a high credit score remain the same:
Pay your bills on time, all the time.
Keep balances on your credit cards well below their limits.
Don’t apply for too much credit, too often.
“If you do these three things over and over again,” Schulz said, “over time your credit will be just fine.”
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Post by healthy11 on Aug 13, 2020 20:54:01 GMT -5
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