Is your credit in bad shape? If so, you’re not alone. The credit horizon looks pretty discouraging right now, but it’s never a bad time to start paying off your debts and hiking up your credit score. The credit crunch won’t last forever; if you take care of your credit now, you’ll have access to great rates after the storm has passed. Follow these tips for weathering the financial crisis and keeping your credit on the up and up.
Just don’t buy things you can’t afford.
Paying down your credit card debt is especially important during the credit crunch. If you want to pay down or pay off your cards, don’t sabotage your efforts by charging more purchases. Wait until your debt has dwindled, and then decide if you can really afford the things you want. They might have to wait. Also, don’t fall prey to feelings of entitlement. It can be tempting to buy things after a period of struggle, but think about your financial future before you do so.
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Imagine that you’ve gotten far behind on your credit card payments. The accounts have been closed, but you manage to pay off your balances before they get charged off as bad debt. Since you’ve made good with your creditors, you’re shocked when your credit score doesn’t rise as a result. What’s going on here? Is it really worth it to pay off your debts rather than waiting for them to fall off of your credit report in seven years?
It’s true that credit scores require patience. It takes a while to move them in either direction, but they tend to sink faster than they rise. That’s one unfortunate truth. Another is that, even though it might take months or years to get your credit score where you want it, it’s not a good idea to play the waiting game with delinquent accounts. Pay them off as quick as you can.
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For many of us, credit reports are mysterious, and sometimes scary, records of our financial history. We know that we should check them often; invalid items show up sometimes which need to be disputed. But did you know that businesses can pull your credit report without your permission? It’s true. And when you consider the fact that pulling your report can potentially lower your credit score, it’s no wonder some card holders are unhappy.
Why does it affect your score when someone checks your credit? It doesn’t always. Sometimes creditors can check your credit report with a “soft” inquiry, which doesn’t count against you. This is the type of credit check that is performed when you check your own credit or get pre-screened by credit card companies. “Hard” inquiries occur when you actively apply for a line of credit, such as a credit card or a loan. These inquiries can decrease your credit score. Creditors don’t like to see a lot of hard inquiries in a short period of time. When too many hard inquiries are present, the suggestion is that you’re applying for more credit than you can handle – a big no-no.
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It seems that everything can be managed online these days. Your credit cards are no exception. Just as you can use your credit cards to make purchases and pay bills over the internet for convenience, there are a number of other ways you can manage your credit card usage online. Some people feel using a credit card online is risky – but in most situations it’s actually a more secure environment than when you give your credit card to your waiter or cashier in a retail establishment! Using some preventative measures, you can further reduce your online credit card usage risks. Here are some tips for using credit cards online securely:
Online Credit Card Applications
In order to apply for a credit card, the issuer requires several pieces of identifying information from you in order to determine your eligibility for a credit card. When you apply online from reputable websites, the information is encrypted and sent over a secure server. Check to make sure the URL contains “https” instead of the standard “http” as that indicates the use of a secure server.
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