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I AM A SONIC BOOMER, NOT A SENIOR... In this blog, I am writing to and for those who believe that the Boomers will change what the word Senior means. I also believe that Boomers will change what retirement means in our society. The blog is also for those who are interested in what life after retirement may look like for them. In this blog, I highlight and write about issues that I believe to be important both for Seniors and working Boomers.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
How to Increase Your Credit Score
The Christmas bills have finally been paid, but the interest rates are going up, time to consider and think about your credit. Many seniors are surprised that they may have problems applying for big loans not because we have bad credit, but because we may have lower income than when we worked.
Applying or using credit is the best thing to do if you don’t have cash on hand to pay for it. But you can’t just get it so easily anymore because you are a senior and the lender will first do a background check. If everything checks out then it will be approved but your credit score is low, you might have to pay it back with a higher interest rate that could have been avoided if you knew how to increase your credit score.
Here is one way you can increase your score.
Get a copy of your credit score and review each item to find out if there were any errors. If there are, call the crediting agency where you got this from and send them the supporting documents to strengthen your claim. If the investigation shows an error on the part of the creditor, they will remove this from your record that will increase your credit score.
However, if there were no errors and this is caused by excessive spending, then you have to find ways to fix it.
Since money is the root cause of this problem, you should learn to spend cash only on the essentials. This means food. Surely you can do without a new pair of shoes, clothes or jewelry for the time being. You may be out of fashion for awhile but you can be trendy later on when things are better.
If it, not cash, it’s probably the credit card that got you in this mess. If you have many, pay off the credit card that has the highest interest rate first then work on the rest. The objective here is to be debt free. When that happens, you can cancel some of them and keep two or three and maintain your credit score, make sure you only use up 25% or less of the maximum limit.
For those who make a lot of long distance calls, now is the time to reduce them. You can also cancel your subscription to one provider if there is another one that is offering lower rates. The same goes for cellphones as some companies charge lower or have free airtime.
Ever heard the saying “energy conservation?” This does two things. First, you help the environment and second, you save cash. If you don’t have money to pay for debts, taking this step can also help.
Other ways to come up with the money to improve your credit score include selling some valuables, working overtime and getting a second job. Naturally, you will be saving some money for daily needs so any excess should be placed in the savings account so creditors will know there is cash stashed somewhere.
It is going to be tough when you are in a hole but this is the only solution to increase your credit score. If you have a few accounts that you don’t really need, close them. Only when things do improve can you can do some of the activities you used to do before like going on a trip or doing some shopping.
Is there a certain credit score you should strive for? The answer is yes and this should be above 700 because this is what creditors see as ideal. If you are able to reach that, you are in good standing and be able to get a loan at a lower interest rate.
Applying or using credit is the best thing to do if you don’t have cash on hand to pay for it. But you can’t just get it so easily anymore because you are a senior and the lender will first do a background check. If everything checks out then it will be approved but your credit score is low, you might have to pay it back with a higher interest rate that could have been avoided if you knew how to increase your credit score.
Here is one way you can increase your score.
Get a copy of your credit score and review each item to find out if there were any errors. If there are, call the crediting agency where you got this from and send them the supporting documents to strengthen your claim. If the investigation shows an error on the part of the creditor, they will remove this from your record that will increase your credit score.
However, if there were no errors and this is caused by excessive spending, then you have to find ways to fix it.
Since money is the root cause of this problem, you should learn to spend cash only on the essentials. This means food. Surely you can do without a new pair of shoes, clothes or jewelry for the time being. You may be out of fashion for awhile but you can be trendy later on when things are better.
If it, not cash, it’s probably the credit card that got you in this mess. If you have many, pay off the credit card that has the highest interest rate first then work on the rest. The objective here is to be debt free. When that happens, you can cancel some of them and keep two or three and maintain your credit score, make sure you only use up 25% or less of the maximum limit.
For those who make a lot of long distance calls, now is the time to reduce them. You can also cancel your subscription to one provider if there is another one that is offering lower rates. The same goes for cellphones as some companies charge lower or have free airtime.
Ever heard the saying “energy conservation?” This does two things. First, you help the environment and second, you save cash. If you don’t have money to pay for debts, taking this step can also help.
Other ways to come up with the money to improve your credit score include selling some valuables, working overtime and getting a second job. Naturally, you will be saving some money for daily needs so any excess should be placed in the savings account so creditors will know there is cash stashed somewhere.
It is going to be tough when you are in a hole but this is the only solution to increase your credit score. If you have a few accounts that you don’t really need, close them. Only when things do improve can you can do some of the activities you used to do before like going on a trip or doing some shopping.
Is there a certain credit score you should strive for? The answer is yes and this should be above 700 because this is what creditors see as ideal. If you are able to reach that, you are in good standing and be able to get a loan at a lower interest rate.
Monday, March 12, 2018
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.
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.
Sunday, March 11, 2018
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.
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.
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