People already know that bankruptcies, foreclosures, repossessions, and collections will hurt credit. And it’s no big secret that late payments are one of the causes of bad credit.
But I bet you don’t know about some of the things that hurt credit! Today’s blog is about the first of three dirty little secrets that will hurt [...]
Archive for the ‘Credit Scoring’ Category
A Dirty Little Secret that Hurts Credit
Posted by Philip Tirone on September 9th, 2010
Posted in Credit Cards, Credit Scoring 
Tags: bad credit, credit card limit, credit card score, hurt credit, utilization rate 
1 Comment »Credit Cards for Bad Credit
Posted by Philip Tirone on September 3rd, 2010
Credit Cards for Bad Credit – Helping or Hurting Your Credit Card Score?
Certain credit cards target people with bad credit—we call these “credit cards for bad credit.” And what the banks won’t tell you is that some credit cards for bad credit will hurt your credit score, while others will help your credit card [...]
Part III: Judgments on Your Credit Report
Posted by Philip Tirone on August 23rd, 2010
In Part II: Judgments on Your Credit Report, we talked about how to avoid judgments on your credit report if you have been late making payments. But if you already have judgments on your credit report, the best thing you can do is pay them off as soon as possible.
In most cases it, even if [...]
Part II: Judgments on Your Credit Report
Posted by Philip Tirone on August 17th, 2010
In Part I: Judgments on Your Credit Report we looked at the ABCs of judgments. This week, let’s talk about how to avoid judgments so that your credit score doesn’t suffer unnecessarily.
Obviously, the best way to avoid judgments on your credit report is to pay your bills on time. But once you have been sued, [...]
Part I: Judgments on Your Credit Report
Posted by Philip Tirone on August 11th, 2010
If you have judgments on your credit report, you might be wondering how to remove them, if you can remove them, and how they will affect your credit card score.
In this three-part blog, I am going to discuss:
The facts about judgments (Part I: Judgments on Your Credit Report)
How to avoid judgments (Part II: Judgments on [...]
Part II: What does a credit score consist of?
Posted by Philip Tirone on August 5th, 2010
In last week’s post—Part I: What does a credit score consist of?—we took a look at the criteria not considered in a credit score; this week, I’ll answer the question—What does a credit score consist of?
Generally speaking, a person’s credit score consists of five things:
Payment history
Outstanding debt
The length of time you [...]
Part I: What does a credit score consist of?
Posted by Philip Tirone on July 30th, 2010
When considering their credit card score, people always ask me: What does a credit score consist of? In previous posts, I have discussed that the 22 criteria used to determine a credit score can be boiled into five categories:
Payment history
Amount owed
The length of time you have had credit
The type of credit you have
The number [...]
The Truth About Divorce and Credit Scores-Part II
Posted by PhilipT on July 23rd, 2010
In my last blog, I revealed Rule #1 of divorce and credit scores: you must refinance your home if you are going through a divorce. In this blog, let’s talk about the rule surrounding joint accounts, such as credit cards.
Divorce and Credit Scores Rule #2: Separate any and all jointly held accounts, as well as [...]
The Truth About Divorce and Credit Scores-Part I
Posted by PhilipT on July 23rd, 2010
Sheila learned about divorce and credit scores the hard way.
I met Sheila when she was applying for a home loan. She had a bad credit score because the mortgage on a home she bought with her ex years earlier was dangerously close to foreclosure.
Sheila explained that her ex, who kept the home, lost his job [...]
Why Your Credit Card Score Is Critical to Your Credit Score – Part Two
Posted by Philip Tirone on July 2nd, 2010
Today’s lesson is Part Two of my seven-part series on Why Your Credit Card Score Is Critical to Your Credit Score. In this lesson, we take a look at the role of retail credit cards in determining your credit score and credit card score.
In short, you should never open retail credit cards. These credit cards [...]
A “credit card score” is a letter grade that reflects whether your credit card habits are helping you build credit or causing you to have bad credit: An “A” credit card score is excellent; an “F” indicates that you likely have bad credit. The lower your credit card score, the more likely you have bad credit and need to make immediate changes to your credit card behavior.