Its one of the fastest growing crimes in the country, and most victims are unaware theyve become a target until long after the crime is committed. Were talking about identity theft. In todays world, information travels faster than ever, and that includes your personal information. If it falls into the wrong hands, your personal info could be used to acquire credit cards, loans, or to open accounts.
Insurance And Your Credit Report (Part II)
This is a continuation of an article entitled Insurance and Your Credit Report.
What is Interest?
Unless you have a degree in finance, you probably don’t know all that you need to know in order to be an informed, responsible credit card user. Now you don’t need to be a finance expert to comprehend the basics covered in this article, but after reading it, you might feel like one the next time the subject comes up with your co-workers, friends, or family.
Young Adult Credit
Don’t let common mistakes like adding your child as an authorized user or a co-applicant harm his or her future credit. Imagine what a shock it would be if she attempted to buy a car or pass a credit check for an apartment, and she found out that the credit card she’d been making payments to for years isn’t on her credit report.
Never Use Payday Loans
In the past several years, payday loan stores have been popping up all over the country. With names like “Check Into Cash,” “The Cash Store,” and “EZ Money,” they offer unsophisticated consumers the promise of quick, easy cash with few questions asked. But at what price?
College Student Credit
For many people, credit is a Catch-22: They can’t get approved for credit because they don’t have a credit history, but they can’t build a credit history without first being approved for credit. Luckily for them, college students don’t tend to have this problem. Credit card companies view them as low risk, at least compared to other young people with no credit, and so they’re willing to give them a first chance.
Credit Cards – Can You Live Without Them?
In 2007, having a credit card is no longer a luxury or even a convenience – it’s a necessity. You can’t rent a car, check into a motel, or order online without a credit card.
Credit Repair and History
Although credit cards may be what land the most people in credit trouble, they’re also the best tool for credit repair. If you find yourself faced with mounting debts and worsening credit, the most important things you can do are always paying your minimum credit card bills, and not exceeding your card’s credit limit.
Bad Credit? Start Rebuilding
Once you’re back on your feet, be sure not to repeat the same mistakes you made in the past, but don’t swear off credit altogether, either. Just because you’re in bad shape now doesn’t mean that you always have to be.
What the Heck is The Larry Rule ?
Larry Lindsey is probably not a name that you know, but he is an important figure in the history of personal finance. Currently, Mr. Lindsey is President Bush’s chief domestic economic advisor. Prior to that, he was a Federal Reserve Board Governor. But neither of these distinctions are what make Larry Lindsey significant. Instead, it was a little incident at Toys ‘R Us that gave birth to “The Larry Rule.”
Why Credit Cards Are Good
For years, the conventional financial wisdom was “credit cards are bad.” We were told that cutting up our credit cards was the only way to free ourselves from debt-ridden indentured servitude. People needed to “live within their means,” and if credit cards were ever to be used, it should be “only in the case of an emergency.”
How Credit Works
In order to acquire and maintain access to credit, one must have a working understanding of how credit works – namely, how credit scores are established and tracked by the three major credit bureaus.