Understanding Your Credit Report Score

Understanding your credit score is important since it may help you determine your chances of being approved for your credit applications. Your credit reports score usually will help lenders and credit institutions to determine if you are good enough for credit that you have applied for. Lenders would need to be ensured that people they lend money to are able to pay back their loans. That is the purpose of a person's credit report.

When a person applies for a personal loan or mortgage on their homes, lenders would usually check upon a person's credit history to see if one is a good borrower in that he or she pays back on credit dues on time.

A person's credit history would help lenders determine the risk of that they put themselves in when approving a person's credit. In a way, credit institutions are trying to protect their own investments (in terms of handing out credit) by checking out a prospective borrower's credit report score.

In essence, a person's credit report is part of the lender's background check. It is a detailed history of a person's borrowing habits. From it, lenders are able to extract the following information about the credit applicant:

• It provides a person's identifying information such as one's complete name, past and current addresses, date of birth as well as a person's employment history

• A record of accounts that previous lenders have submitted to who the individual has loaned from in the past. This record includes the type of credit extended (mortgage, credit card, car loan, etc.), the amount of credit, the date when it was opened and a record of payments already made as well as the remaining balance.

• A record of inquiries made on the credit report for a period of two years. This includes voluntary inquiries made for previous credit applications as well as involuntary inquiries made by the lender without the knowledge of the credit report holder. 

• A collection of information of state and county court records associated with previous loans made. The credit report also includes recorded information about previous bankruptcies, lawsuits, foreclosure of properties, liens and other judgments that can be attributed to previous loans made. 

When availing of the credit report, the lender or credit institution may also get hold of a person's credit score. A credit score is calculated based on the information that is provided by the credit report. This is usually done by credit reporting agencies that consider the information and provide the necessary score to help lenders better assess your future credit risk level. 

Your credit score is also being more commonly referred to your FICO score. The reason for this is because most of the credit scores are calculated using a software developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation, also known as FICO. Your FICO score can range from 300 to 850. The higher your FICO score figures, the lower your credit risk is perceived by lenders, thereby giving you better chances of being approved for credit.

Understanding your credit reports score makes it also easier for you to determine your own chances of being approved for a particular credit application. If you know that you have a high FICO score, you can then try your best to maintain or even improve on it in order to increase your credit chances with a number of lenders.

Knowing that you have a low FICO score may also do you some good. This knowledge will motivate you to act on improving your credit score in order to make yourself less of a credit risk to lenders the next time that you apply for another loan.

Credit Score Scale

The credit score scale is an indicator used by lending institutions to find out if you are credit worthy. This could be from 340 to 850 and the higher the score, the better off you are. 

You can get a copy of your credit score scale by getting a copy from an accredited credit agency by giving them a call or requesting for one through their website. 

These three credit agencies are namely Expedia, Equifax or Transunion and you can get a copy from one or from all three at the same time or after a few months. 

Majority of Americans get a score 700 or higher on their credit score scale. Sadly, there are a few who score lower. How this is determined is based on 5 factors.

The first is your credit history. This includes the number of loans that were approved or disapproved, your credit card transactions and other financing which you may have acquired over the past 2 years. 

The creditors will also review if you have had any late payments in the past. If you have always paid this one time, then that is great. 

Another indicator will be the length of your credit. If you have had this for years, then you have an advantage compared to someone who is just building up their credit. New credit is also a factor together with a few other things that could make the scale go up or down.

If you happen to be delinquent in any of them, you must do whatever it takes to correct it so there will be an improvement in your credit score scale. 

You can start by cutting down on your expenses and using the money saved to pay off the debt. 

For those who have a lot of credit cards, you should pay off first the one that has the highest interest rate then work on the rest. The objective is to be debt free and only have 2 credit cards left in your wallet. 

Worse case scenario if you don’t have the money is to sell some valuables so you pay it off without worrying anymore of the growing amount due to interest.

If you can’t handle the situation, get help from a financial advisor. This person ma help you negotiate with creditors as to how this problem can be solved.  

Only when you are debt free can your credit score scale ever improve. You should know that this is not going to be easy and this could take months before things look better but if you put in time and effort, there is no doubt that you will be able to apply for a loan once again. 

There are some who say getting a new credit card will help just make sure that this one offers low interest rates and that you only use up to 30% of the maximum limit at times that is just about right. 

The credit score scale changes so it is best to get one annually. It can go up or down depending on your behavior so if you keep your nose clean, there won’t be any red flags on your record. You should also remember that sometimes, it is not your fault if it goes down which is why you should check if there are any errors so this can be corrected. 

Dog Training

My grandson is learning to live with his new pet, which is a cat, When I was growing up we had dogs and learning how to train them was important. There are of course many reasons for owners to want a calm, obedient and faithful dog.  For one thing, obedient and trained dogs are happier dogs, less likely to get into tussles with people or with other dogs.  Another reason is that many communities require that the dogs living in their neighbourhoods be well trained.  This is especially true for many breeds thought to have aggression and behaviour problems – dog breeds like pit bulls and rottweilers for instance.

And of course, training your dog well will also make he or she a much better family companion, especially in households where there are young children.  Many studies have shown that proper dog training makes a big impact when it comes to cutting down the number of dog bits and other behaviour problems encountered by dog owning households.

When considering training your own dog, or having someone else help you train it, there are certain basic commands that must be mastered in order for a dog to be considered truly trained.  These basic commands include:

• Heel – it is important that any dog learn to walk beside its owner on a loose lead, neither pulling ahead nor lagging behind
• Respond to the word No – the word no is one word that all dogs must learn.  Training your dog to respond to this important word can save you a ton of trouble.
• Sit – Training your dog to sit on command is a vital part of any dog training program.
• Stay – A well-trained dog should remain where his or her owner commands, so stay is a very important command in dog training.
• Down – Lying down on command is more than just a cute trick; it is a key component of any successful dog training program.

Dog training does much more than just create an obedient, willing companion.  Training your dog properly actually strengthens the bond that already exists between dog and handler.  Dogs are pack animals, and they look to their pack leader to tell them what to do.  The key to successful dog training is to set yourself up as that pack leader.  

Establishing yourself as pack leader is a very important concept for any potential dog trainer to understand.  There is only one leader in every pack of dogs, and the owner must establish him or herself as the dominant animal.  Failure to do so leads to all manner of behaviour problems.

A properly trained dog will respond properly to all the owner’s commands, and will not display anxiety, displeasure or confusion.  A good dog training program will focus on allowing the dog to learn just what is expected of it and will use positive reinforcement to reward desired behaviours.

In addition to making the dog a good member of the community, obedience training is a great way to fulfill some of the dog’s own needs, including the need for exercise, the security that comes with knowing what is expected of it, a feeling of accomplishment and a good working relationship with its handler.  Dog training gives the dog an important job to do, and an important goal to reach.

Giving the dog a job is more important than you may think.  Dogs were originally bred by humans to do important work, such as herding sheep, guarding property and protecting people.  Many dogs today have no important job to do, and this can often lead to boredom and neurotic behaviour.  

Basic obedience training and ongoing training sessions provide the dog with an important job to do.  This is especially important for high energy breeds like German shepherds and border collies.  Training sessions are a great way for these high energy dogs to use up their extra energy and simply to enjoy themselves.

Incorporating playtime into your dog training sessions is a great way to prevent both yourself and your dog from becoming bored.  Playing with your dog helps to strengthen the all-important bond between you – the pack leader – and your dog.

A first pet

My grandson just got his first pet, which is a small kitten, whom he calls Poco (The cat is named after the city we live in). So as he is planning to be a pet owner, he must be ready for the long-term cat care. Everything must be planned in order to avoid mistakes.

Poco will be a nice companion for him and his family. But he has to understand the kitten's needs. First, Poco has to eat. But you can't feed your cat (kitten) your leftovers. It is better to look for the best cat food that can give her the energy boost as well as good health you want her to have.

He also has to make sure that the surrounding his cat is living in is free from anything that can cause her accidents. He has to make sure that he does not let anything that is lethal and poisonous hanging about. When it comes to neatness, he has the right pet. Cats are known to take ample time in grooming themselves.

My grandson lives in a rural setting, so watching his kitten for signs of fleas is important. One of the signs can be too much grooming.

And if his cat is going to be an inside cat, and because cats are vain, he must also be tidy with everything. He needs to keep the litter box clean and well maintained. Did you know that the cat's sense of smell is 14 times stronger than ours? You may not smell a thing but the cat will.

Poco will not do her thing on the provided litter box if it stinks. My grandson may get the surprise of his life to see his cat's poops well hidden under your clean carpet or how about that basket of clean clothes.

I recommend that he doesn't give his cat a reason to stray when it comes to those things. Give her what she wants. And what all cats want is a clean and odour free litter box.

He also has to find a good vet for your cats. My daughter and her family are friends with your local veterinarian. They need to be mindful of the simplest symptoms that your cat may show. Just by observing their pet, they will know if something is wrong. Call the vet immediately and ask their opinion.

My grandson and his family long before they made the decision to welcome a cat into the household, thought everything through over and over again. They did not act on impulse and my grandson had to commit to carrying out his responsibilities of being a pet owner and I look forward to meeting Poco when we next visit.