Archive for the ‘Financial Tips’ Category

3 Good Credit Scores Can Seal Your Wedding Day Bliss

Financial Tips | Posted by Jacob ONeill
Jun 29 2011

Ladies, if you’ve been shopping for wedding gowns, you know that perfect dress can be more expensive than you initially thought. And guys, when it comes time to pay for the DJ, band, or wedding officiant, you definitely don’t want to come up short.

If you have good credit scores like us on your side, you won’t need to worry about paying for all the elements that add up to your perfect wedding.

Your wedding gown can be a significant purchase. The show “Say Yes to the Dress” on Bravo shows women, sometimes in tears, because they cannot afford their dream dress. While it’s important to manage your finances and not overspend so you can keep your credit scores strong, if you need to finance that fairytale dress it may cost you less in the long run with us on your side. 

When the big day arrives and it’s time to say your vows, one of the last things you want to worry about is how to pay those last few vendors. If you take good care of your credit scores, the Good Score Guys will take care of you. With 3 high credit scores, you won’t have to take out high-interest loans or pay your vendors with a high-interest credit card. Instead, you’ll be able to take advantage of the lowest available rates, which will save you money in the long run. But watch out: One bad credit score can ruin everything. Imagine what a nightmare it would be if Billy BadScore shows up unexpectedly when you’re trying to negotiate financing for your dream wedding. And you thought a ri

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Tags: Wedding, Wedding Day
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A High Score Equals a Low Rate, So Refinance Before It’s Too Late

Financial Tips | Posted by Jacob ONeill
Jun 24 2011

How many times have you heard this one recently: “Interest rates are at an all-time low.” It seems every commercial peddling a mortgage or refinance program lives by that mantra.

Well, it’s true: Due to continuing economic uncertainty, interest rates remain remarkably low, making now a great time to either buy a home or refinance your current home. If you are refinancing to lower your home payment because you are struggling to pay in full on time each month, you will absolutely want to refinance before you ever miss a payment.

The New York Times published an eye-opening article on mortgages and credit scores. Just missing one mortgage payment by 30 days can mean a serious hit to your credit score – but that’s not the only thing. Loan modifications, short sales, foreclosures and a series of missed payments can all drag down your score, making it harder to refinance or attain a lower interest rate.

The article reveals a FICO study, showing the effect of late mortgage payments on credit scores for people with a spotless record (780), slightly tarnished record (720) or average record (680):

780 720 680 Payment 30 Days Late 670-690 630-650 600-620 Payment 90 Days Late 650-670 610-630 600-620 Short Sale, No Balance Owed 655-675 605-625 610-630 Short Sale, Deficiency Balance Owed 620-640 570-590 575-595

Before you apply for refinancing, make sure you know where you stand by checking your three credit scores at . As the in

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Tags: It’s, It’s Late
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Hunting for that Elusive Summer Job?

Financial Tips | Posted by Jacob ONeill
Jun 22 2011

Once upon a time, hunting for a summer job was as easy as a walk on the beach. The problem was less about finding work than about which opportunity to choose. Now, as the economy continues to struggle, it’s not quite as easy, but with a little diligence and creative thinking, you can find the perfect gig for extra spending cash this summer.

Do friends and family know you are looking for a job? If they don’t know you are searching, they won’t know to tell you when they see a “Help Wanted” sign or hear of the perfect opening. Do you have an uncle that owns a landscaping business or a second cousin who runs a summer camp? Don’t be shy about asking folks you know if they will hire you for the summer – they may be looking for seasonal help.

You need to do more than pound the pavement to find a summer job. While you should be looking for “Help Wanted” signs while you’re out and about, the Internet is full of resources. Your city’s Craigslist can be a great place to start, though be extra careful to avoid scams and shady job listings. Also, monitor social media sites like Twitter or Facebook, since many local companies turn there first when listing a job.

Of course, there are the usual tips, such as dressing the part for the interview and having your resume and references lined up. You may also want to be prepared for a credit check. Employers often check

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Tags: Job, Summer Job
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Credit report errors and its effect on consumer’s creditworthiness

Financial Tips | Posted by Jacob ONeill
Jun 20 2011

According to the reports of the new study that was released today by the Policy and Economic Research Council (PERC), consumers can now rest easy and they need not be too concerned if there is a possibility of errors occurring in their credit reports, which could be negatively affecting their creditworthiness.

The PERC research is a statistically sound and comprehensive study that is performed under rigorous peer review. The accuracy of the data that has been collected and maintained by the three major credit reporting agencies – Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, and the impact of the outcome of the credit report disputes, has been studied in great detail. More than 2000 consumers were engaged in the study in order to examine their credit report entries, spot inaccuracies, and file disputes wherever necessary, as well as to discuss their satisfaction levels candidly with regard to the outcomes.

The study revealed the following:

  • At least 0.93% of the credit reports that were examined by the consumers had prompted a dispute which resulted in a correction in the credit score which resulted in an increase in the credit score of 25 points or more.
  • After the completion of the dispute process, 0.50% of the credit reports that were examined by consumers had scores that moved to the high-risk tier due to the consumer dispute.
  • 95% of the consumers who were part of the study were satisfied with the outcome of the dispute process.

Dr. M

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Tags: Report, Report Errors
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How Does Mortgage Delinquency Affect Your Credit Score?

Financial Tips | Posted by Jacob ONeill
Jun 19 2011

Many people, many more than usual and many more than in past years, have recently experienced the trauma of not being able to make the house payment, not being able to catch up after delinquencies and the horror of foreclosure, not to mention the people who never really missed a payment but were completely unable to sell the home for as much as they owed when they needed to move, thereby resulting in a “short sale” on their credit report.

And all of these problems affect your credit scores and your credit reports. The question is how much? And how long? And what can I do to improve now that the crisis has past?

Well the people at FICO, the credit score people, have long been tight-lipped about how much these types and even other types of problems can affect you. You can check out this article on Mintlife, “How Mortgage Delinquencies Affect Your Credit Scores” to see some of the worst details.

Apparently, it has much to do with how high your credit score was in the first place. If you had a score of 680 there is no difference between a 30 day late and a 90 day late (except of course, it is much easier to pull out of a 30 day late and if you havent been able to make payments for as long as 90 days, you may find that nasty foreclosure to be inevitable).

But if you had a 780 score to start there is a difference between the 30 and 90 day delinquency.

An interesting note is that if you had a 680 score, a short sale would negatively affect your score as much as a foreclosure. Rather

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Hunting for that Elusive Summer Job?

Financial Tips | Posted by Jacob ONeill
Jun 13 2011

Once upon a time, hunting for a summer job was as easy as a walk on the beach. The problem was less about finding work than about which opportunity to choose. Now, as the economy continues to struggle, it’s not quite as easy, but with a little diligence and creative thinking, you can find the perfect gig for extra spending cash this summer.

Do friends and family know you are looking for a job? If they don’t know you are searching, they won’t know to tell you when they see a “Help Wanted” sign or hear of the perfect opening. Do you have an uncle that owns a landscaping business or a second cousin who runs a summer camp? Don’t be shy about asking folks you know if they will hire you for the summer – they may be looking for seasonal help.

You need to do more than pound the pavement to find a summer job. While you should be looking for “Help Wanted” signs while you’re out and about, the Internet is full of resources. Your city’s Craigslist can be a great place to start, though be extra careful to avoid scams and shady job listings. Also, monitor social media sites like Twitter or Facebook, since many local companies turn there first when listing a job.

Of course, there are the usual tips, such as dressing the part for the interview and having your resume and references lined up. You may also want to be prepared for a credit check. Employers often check

Read more…

Tags: Job, Summer Job
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