The Finance Blogger


Steps to a Better Credit Rating

November 7th, 2015 ernie Posted in Poor Credit Rating No Comments »

Steps to a Better Credit RatingAn excellent credit rating can save you thousands of dollars when it comes to applying for a mortgage or loan, it can help you get a job in some cases and even be approved to rent an apartment or house. Landlords, utility companies, employers as well as lenders routinely check credit ratings. They want to determine what kind of person you are and whether you are a good risk or not.

Someone with a lower credit rating due to huge debt or chronic late payments may be shunned by these organizations. They prefer other consumers who are higher on the list for credit ratings. It can take up to 18 months to begin improving your rating. Start now on the following steps to a better credit rating and increased savings!

Steps to a Better Credit Rating

Open a Credit Card – If you do not have a credit card now, apply for a low limit card. Use it sparingly. This will demonstrate that you can manage your credit limit. Always pay off the balance in full every month.

Always Pay the Balance in Full – If you have credit cards always pay the balance in full each month and never miss a payment even by one day. If you cannot meet this requirement, then do not make purchases that will place you in this position of carrying a balance on your card. The interest rate is very high, 21%, and it will impact your credit rating negatively.

Pay off Large Purchases Early

It will look great on your credit report if you can pay off a large purchase early. This is the reputation you want to have with lenders who issue credit. They can not only depend on you to repay the loan, but you will repay it before the due date!

Pay your Rent / Loans / Credit Cards / Utilities on Time – Our monthly expenses are sometimes hard to meet, however this sends alarm bells if you are late on any of these payments. When these companies check your credit report and find out you are late on payments, they will not be inclined to do business with you. Never miss a monthly payment of any kind even by one day.

Know Your Credit rating – Find out what your rating is today so that you can deal with the specific issues that are causing a lower rating. Focus on these now since it could take up to 18 months to see improvement on your rating.

These are the best Steps to a Better Credit Rating that you can follow. Get started now to improve your credit rating and save money.

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Poor Credit Mortgage Refinancing

January 3rd, 2012 Debt Posted in Poor Credit Rating No Comments »

Poor Credit Mortgage RefinancingThe questions we got from our last reader involved a poor credit mortgage refinancing issue. Basically the writers mortgage was coming due and he was nervous about renewing the mortgage given his poor credit situation.  He has always paid his mortgage on time , never missing a payment nor being late for a payment. The problem comes from his problems with his credit cards. The two negative things you can do with credit cards is first of all only pay the minimum payment and secondly miss a payment. Always pay off the balance in full each month. If you are not going to be able to do this, then do not purchase items and charge it to your credit card!

Late Payments Impact Credit ratings

Apparently there was a time when had to choose between paying his mortgage payments or being late on the credit cards. He chose to he late on paying his credit cards which put him into the poor credit rating category. Had he taken the reverse, i.e. paid his credit cards and not his mortgage there is a chance that he might have lost his home. He did not do that and has a good relationship with his bank today, even though his credit rating is not so great.

We think the chances are pretty good that the bank will just renew the mortgage at the prevailing rate since his record with them is good. They may look at his credit record and they may only look at his record with the bank.  Obviously we think that customers should never get themselves into a situation were they cannot make their payments. But this is water under the bridge and now he has to deal with the situation. Read the rest of this entry »

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Questions about Poor Credit Mortgage Refinancing

December 27th, 2011 Debt Posted in Poor Credit Rating No Comments »

Poor Credit Mortgage RefinancingWe received a question about poor credit mortgage refinancing from a reader and will answer his questions in our next post about poor credit mortgage refinancing. We get a lot of questions about this issue. Consumers with poor or bad credit who are trying to refinance their home or are trying to obtain a mortgage so that they can purchase a home they can call their own. Managing your credit rating and your debt is incredibly important and we wish consumers would pay more attention to this issue.

They really have to plan well in advance of things like mortgage renewals to make sure that their credit rating is under control when it comes time to renew a mortgage. If it is not in good shape, your interest charges could go way up as a result.

Poor Credit Mortgage Refinancing – Question to Debt Counselor::

Our mortgage is coming due in two months time and we are very nervous about refinancing the mortgage with our poor credit rating. I have paid the mortgage on time every month for the past 5 years and never missed a payment. The problem is that I cannot say the same for our credit cards.

We missed several payments 2 years ago. I got laid off for a spell of 3 months and as a result my credit rating slipped into the poor category. We chose at the time to pay our mortgage so that there would be no danger of us losing the house. We have since repaid everything we owe on the credit cards and the only other debt we have is a small car loan.

Our concern is that the bank will not want to refinance our mortgage given our poor credit rating.

Do you currently have a mortgage? :: yes, and it needs to be refinanced

Home/Mortgage Loan Amount :: $45,000

Other Loans, Including Credit Cards:: just a small car loan of $5,000

Are you employed and for how long:: yes, I work for Ford for the past 10 years
Read the rest of this entry »

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Poor Credit Home Loan

October 20th, 2011 Debt Posted in Poor Credit Rating No Comments »

Poor Credit Home LoanOur last reader is looking for help obtaining what is called a Poor Credit Home Loan. Their credit rating is poor to bad. They are having trouble finding a lender who will take the risk and lend them a small home loan of $15,000. This is due to the fact that their credit rating is poor.  Managing your credit rating is extremely important these days if you want to obtain a loan of any kind. Also at decent rates and terms. Lenders appear to just not want to take the chance on a poor credit risk.

How He Ended up with a Poor Credit Rating

Our reader mentioned the reason that he felt that his credit rating was relegated to the poor category. He is probably right. He learned a tough lesson while disputing a charge with a local company. Basically what happened is that he paid for an item with his credit card. Then decided to return the item, expecting that the company would credit his credit card for the full amount. Apparently there was some sort of disagreement. Which ended with him and the company in small claims court. Eventually they settled and our reader got his money. But not after a significant time delay. While a frustrating experience, at least he got his money  back!

He also tried to use his credit card in this dispute by not paying his credit card company. This simply does not work! As far as the credit card company is concerned you owe them money for something you purchased and if you have any kind of disagreement, it is between you and the company you purchased the item from. End of story. So lesson to be learned for us all, always pay your credit card on time and avoid being hit with a poor credit rating.
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Question about Poor Credit Home Loan

October 15th, 2011 Debt Posted in Poor Credit Rating No Comments »

Poor Credit Home LoanWe received a question about poor credit home loans from a reader and will answer his questions in our next post. Many people are faced with trying to find lenders who will loan money to them when they have poor or bad credit. With so many people unemployed over the past 5 years and not earning income, it is no wonder that many consumers now have a poor credit rating. With no or little income, they could just not pay their bills.

Poor Credit Home Loan

Question to Debt Counselor::

We have been attempting to find a lender that will provide us with a home loan so that we can complete a number of renovations around our home. The basement, add a bedroom and a bathroom downstairs as well as change the roof before it begins to leak are on the list. We have a poor credit rating and as a result we are having a hard time finding a lender who will lend us any money.

Do you currently have a mortgage? :: Yes, there is 19 years left on the mortgage

Home/Mortgage Loan Amount :: $15,000 ( $5000 for the roof and the rest for the basement)

Other Loans, Including Credit Cards:: No other loans or credit card debt

Are you employed and for how long:: Both my wife and I are employed and we have worked at the same place for the past 3 years
Read the rest of this entry »

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